Big win at Idaho 200 further fuels Havens' fire in racing career

When Medical Lake's Braeden Havens crossed the finish line just ahead of Ryan Wells to win last Saturday's NAPA Auto Parts Idaho 200 at Stateline Speedway, it was a dream come true.

But in the bigger picture for the 22-year-old - that of making racing a career - there's a notion that his window may be slowly closing in a sport where "youngsters" of 16–18 already have a leg up.

Havens is basking in the present for now after taking, perhaps, the most unlikely victory of his young career.

It's not often that one survives flirting with the disaster of a wreck that you had nothing to do with, especially how Havens did it on Saturday.

With about 70 laps remaining, Havens chose to shoot for the lead on the front straight by taking the low groove on the inside lane. Wells, from Hingham, Mont. and then-leader Wenatchee's Garrett Evans jostled outside.

"My dad was spotting for me (and) I heard him say, 'Yellow,'" which meant a caution flag was flying.

Or was it?

"The flagger pulled it out and put it away and he said 'go, go, go,'" Havens said of his dad, Todd's instructions on the radio. "I don't think Garrett Evans got that information, he started checking up (braking) and Ryan Wells ran into the back of him (Evans)," Havens said.

A video shows Wells hit Evans twice, the second time spinning him out as the two drove into turn one.

"I couldn't get down to the bottom fast enough," Havens said.

His Western Rail-sponsored Chevy clipped the front of Evans' car, which was sliding sideways on the track toward the infield. Havens launched into the air a good 10 feet before coming down hard in a shower of sparks.

"I couldn't believe the car stayed together," Havens said.

But it did and the grad from Christian Heritage School in Edwall, Wash. earned what he termed, "One of my bigger wins, if not the biggest I've had," leading the final 15 laps.

The lap 128 launch was not the only drama for Havens because he had to fend off a serious challenge from Wells, who was sent to the back of the pack for instigating the wreck.

Wells quickly raced his way back into contention for the $5,000 first-place money. He didn't tow 500 miles from his hometown northeast of Great Falls just to show up.

The message from the spotter was that Wells was closing fast. "He's on your bumper, you better guard," was the chatter on the radio inside Haven's helmet as the white flag signaling the final lap had just waved.

"I drove a defensive line down into (turn) one and he tagged me in (the) bumper," Havens said.

Seeing lapped traffic ahead, Havens said he sped up to catch them and form another line of defense. It worked to perfection and several thousand pounds of steel played the part of lumbering linemen who sometimes escort a long football scoring play.

"I split them thinking he was going to have to do something really crazy to get around me," Havens said. "I had (just) enough of a gap."

Saturday's victory was certainly one high point in Havens' summer, but another came in June when he used some connections to hitch a ride in a race at one of NASCAR's legendary tracks, Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.

He finished eighth in an 18-20 car field that ran on a flat asphalt track ringing the natural grass field that is home to the Winston-Salem State Rams, an NCAA Division II football program.

It's a busy two weeks ahead for Havens with a race this Saturday in Monroe, Wash. where he will run the second race this year in the NASCAR K&N Series.

The K&N is somewhat similar to the hierarchy of professional baseball, maybe a Class A level of play. Drivers like Spokane's Chad Little or Spanaway's Derrike Cope each made the jump out of a similar series and earned Sprint Cup rides.

But the clock is ticking for Havens.

"Honestly, I'm getting old," Havens admitted, but he's not at all ready to let that stop him. "It's still a dream, it's everybody's dream."

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.